Then, Now and Forever
by Life-without-L0ve
Summary: The bride paced through the room, like a caged tiger. Her mermaid style wedding dress dragging against the floor. A killer grip around her bouquet and anxiety having a harder grip on her stomach. She had been a lot of tough situations, but this out ranked them all. Sequel to Broken and Nightmares.


TMNT-Now and Forever

**A.N: Last fic with Sarah and Kate in it guys. You all are amazing and I hope that even though Kate and Sarah won't be in my fics anymore that you all will still read them. I will make more OC stories with the turtles (Especially Raph….) and trust me when I say I saved the best for later! I don't own TMNT just Sarah, Kate and all their crap. As always Love it, Share it, Follow it, Fave it and Freaking **_**REVIEW**_** it! Well until next time bye-bye!**

The bride paced through the room, like a caged tiger. Her mermaid style wedding dress dragging against the floor. A killer grip around her bouquet and anxiety having a harder grip on her stomach. She had been a lot of tough situations, but this out ranked them all.

"Oh for crying out loud, Raph! Let me in the damn room!" An agitated voice of a dear friend made the bride relax a bit until the door actually opened.

A highly hormonal, seven month pregnant Sarah Kaplan barged into the door. Gray eyes sharpened and focused on the bride, Katherine Gates.

It had been two years since Kate and Leo had gotten together. In that time, April had given birth to her and Casey's son: August Arnold Jones. An adorable little one year old boy who looked just like his mother and liked watching his Dad, uncles Raph and Mikey fight a little too much. A little boy who was her ring bearer.

Sarah was married to the red clad turtle two years ago and was currently expecting his child. And with her large stomach, she had rejected Kate's offer to be a bridesmaid, in fear the dress wouldn't fit.

Mike had also gotten a girlfriend: Lola Mclaughin, who was an old friend of Sarah's and one of Kate's bridesmaids. Mike and her were like peas in a pod. She worked at a comic book store and a videogame store on weekends. She was utterly perfect for the youngest turtle

Donatello also found love in a young Sadie Taylor, a platinum blonde, green eyed chemist who's had a….pre-started family of her own when they first met. She was eight months pregnant but that minor obstacle didn't matter to Don and Sadie. It was love at first sight. A little baby girl named Akemi (Donatello had named her) only born a month earlier was Kate's 'flower girl' though Sadie would be the one dropping the flower petals. Donnie, may not have been her biological father, but he thought himself as it.

And all in that amount of two years. Along with one other thing: Leonardo had proposed to Kate.

'_Where the hell did the time go?' _Kate thought before returning to reality.

"Ya sure ya don't want me in der?" Raph asked making his wife turn her attention from Kate to him.

"Raphael, I'm pregnant not dying! Now go, make sure August didn't mess the cake up or something!" Sarah frowned impatiently. The red-clad turtle sighed before turning and walking down the hall.

"And don't you dare go talk to Leo, you made Casey pass out at his wedding, we don't need you making Leo puke all over his tux!" Sarah called after him before turning towards Kate. She raised her arms, outstretched for a hug, a smile lighting her face.

"Look at you! Kate you're gorgeous!" Sarah beamed as she let go of the bride.

"Thanks, how's the little munchkin doing?" Kate asked, looking for a distraction from her anxiety.

"_Munchkins_." Sarah corrected with a bright smile setting a hand on her swollen stomach. Kate's blue eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yup, two of them. My last ultrasound proved it. We were hoping we'd get a gender, instead we got a number." Sarah chuckled, "But now Raph acts like I'm going to break if I leave his sight."

"He's only worried."

"I know, but he's going a bit overboard."

"Oh?" Kate asked, arms crossing over her chest.

"I'm not allowed to cook, not allowed to go not allowed to sleep on my right side, I'm not allowed up or down stairs, I'm not even allowed to the bathroom without him or the guys by the door to watch me!" Sarah huffed, "But today's not about me, it's about you. Are you excited?"

"Try nervous." Kate sighed before walking away, sitting on the bed of the room she was in, "What if he changes his mind? What if he leaves me at the altar? Sarah, he deserves so much better….were you this worried on your wedding day?"

"No." She answered simply. "I actually think Raph was the one with cold-feet."

"Really?" Kate asked with a chuckle and Sarah nodded, rubbing her hand over her extended stomach.

"I knew I loved him, and if I hadn't left him by now, then I wouldn't ever. Not after all we've been through. You're going to have to trust Leo feels the same for you." She smiled holding the bride's real hand. Kate sighed before nodding and standing up,

"I guess you're right…."

"Of course I am, now let's finish getting you ready."

~*~*~**With the Groom**~*~*~

Leonardo waited in the barn, in front of all of his closest friends and brothers, waiting for his bride: Kate.

He was nervous, but he hid it well. Kate was going to be his wife, the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with. A woman he loved with all of his heart. He just hoped she wouldn't back out of the wedding. He made a mental note to thank Sarah for telling Raph to keep his mouth shut. He didn't need his younger brother to add to his anxiety.

"Ya nervous?" A voice behind the ninja made him look to see one of Kate's bridesmaids and his youngest brother's girfriend: Lola.

She was 27 years old, blonde, blue eyed, bubbly, always smiling and had a bit of southern twang. Lola was currently wearing a soft blue bridesmaid dress that had dark blue tribal designs on the sides, that the two other bridesmaids wore. She was from Louisiana and a good friend of Sarah's. In fact Michelangelo saved her from a mugging when she walking home from work. Her work, at a _comic book _store. It didn't surprise Leo that she and Mikey had gotten together.

"A little." He replied and Lola raised a brow.

"A little? Sugar, ya look like your gonna faint." She frowned and he sighed.

"Okay, maybe I'm really nervous…"

"And ya should be! Your gettin' married fer Pete's sakes!"

"Not helping, Lola." Leo frowned causing the blonde woman to giggle.

"Relax honey, 'm just messin' with ya. Everythin' is gonna be fine. A little case of jitters is a package deal with gettin' married. But it'll all be worth it, don't ya worry." She explained before returning back to her own boyfriend. Leonardo sighed, he hoped Lola was right.

~*~*~**With the Bride**~*~*~

"Are you ready?" Sarah asked as she slipped Kate's veil on the Marine's head.

"Yeah….I think…."

"Do you have something old?" Sarah asked and the bride nodded.

"The dress, it was my mom's."

"Ok good. Something new?" Sarah continued on the list.

"Yeah, the necklace. Leo gave it to me yesterday." Kate smiled holding the charm around her neck. It was a turtle made of blue sapphires on a silver chain.

"Aww, okay something borrowed?" Sarah cooed as the bride's eyes widened.

"Oh no." She began to panic and Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Relax," She sighed and began taking of her heels. "Just switch me shoes. Then you're borrowing mine and I'm borrowing yours." Kate nodded as she took off her own shoes and the two exchanged footwear.

"Okay, now we just need something blue."

"Try the groom's mask. Or anything else in the wedding." Kate chuckled causing her friend to laugh.

"Alright, then. I think you're ready to go." Sarah smiled, "Come on, we better not keep them waiting."

~*~*~**A few minutes later**~*~*~

Sarah sat down in her seat beside her husband and grinned at him. Raphael wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her temple as The Professor started to play the music. Sadie held tiny little Akemi in her arms and dropped a few petals every once in a while from a bag held by the wide-eyed month old. Donatello right beside his lover and adopted child with a small smile on his lips. Sarah could tell it was taking all of his self control not to coo over the baby.

Casey and April came next. Casey held little August's hand who had the rings on a long chain around his chubby little neck. Mikey and Lola went next.

Lastly came the bride. Bending down slightly as Master Splinter led her down the aisle to the waiting groom. Leo's breath caught in his throat, she was stunning. Kate seemed to glow in her mermaid style gown and lace covering both her real and metal arms. Though she would always protest to his compliments, he thought she was the most beautiful thing on Earth.

Master Splinter handed Kate off to his eldest son before taking his seat. Kate's eyes locking with Leo's as the ceremony started.

The Ancient One 'officiated' the ceremony and Kate only agreed because her so-to-be-husband had some sort of respect for the man in front of them. Kate personally thought the man looked like an obese baby.

"True marriage is more than joining the bonds of marriage of two persons; it is the union of two hearts. It lives on the love you give each other and never grows old, but thrives on the joy of each new day. Marriage is love. May you always be able to talk things over, to confide in each other, to laugh with each other, to enjoy life together, and to share moments of quiet and peace, when the day is done. May you be blessed with a lifetime of happiness and a home of warmth and understanding." The Ancient one started and Kate sucked in a breath. It was starting. The rest of her life started at this moment.

"True marriage begins well before the wedding day, and the efforts of marriage continue well beyond the ceremony's end. A brief moment in time and the stroke of the pen are all that is required to create the legal bond of marriage, but it takes a lifetime of love, commitment, and compromise to make marriage durable and everlasting. Today you declare your commitment to each other before family and friends, your yesterdays were the path to this moment, and your journey to a future of togetherness becomes a little clearer with each new day." He continued and impatience continued to bubble inside her. Eyes were all over her and Kate did not like it one bit.

"Katherine and Leonardo, remember to treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Take responsibility for making the other feel safe, and give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at some time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not just the part that seems wrong. In this way, you can survive the times when clouds drift across the face of the sun in your lives, remembering that, just because you may lose sight of it for a moment, does not mean the sun has gone away. And, if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight."

Kate inwardly cringed when The Ancient One used her full name. She hated Katherine. The only people who used it was her Aunt Beth who was currently balling her eyes out and Master Splinter. It sounded too formal, but it was her wedding…..so she supposed it would do for now.

"May you always need one another, not to fill an emptiness, but to help each other know your fullness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you embrace one another, but not encircle one another. May you succeed in all important ways with each other, and not fail in the little graces. May you have happiness, and may you find it in making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it in loving one another."

Leonardo seemed to notice his bride's discomfort and unease and held her hand a little tighter catching Kate's attention. There were no words only a look that eased her nerves. Words couldn't describe how much she loved Leo, not in that particular moment anyway.

"No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than those you are about to take. Both of you come to this day with the deep realization that the contract of marriage is sacred as are all of its obligations and responsibilities"

Kate knew Leo was probably just as scared as she was. But he was being a rock for her, only her. He did this every night her nightmares returned when he held her, whispering sweet comforts when tears stung her eyes and let her be vulnerable for once, not the tough Marine she was around everyone else.

"When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. Such is an impossibility, and even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern."

She offered him a small smile and squeezed Leo's hand back, hoping that showed him that Kate was there for him as much as he was for her. Kate didn't know how much that little act did for him.

"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years, May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth."

Leo smiled back at her and his heart warmed. Nothing felt more right, more perfect. Every moment of them together ran though his mind. Their first kiss, first date on a rooftop, with Chinese takeout (because truthfully, neither one of them could cook) and a radio playing love songs in the background that Kate claimed to be too cheesy, their first time or really his where they both found out Kate's mystery tattoo ironically meant 'Fearless' in Japanese, when he met Kate's Aunt, when he had 'metaphorically' met Kate's parents at the cemetery and the night he proposed. All of it running though his mind and a goofy smile worked its way to her face.

"Leonardo and Katherine, the time has come to forget all the stress of planning this day and simply enjoy your friends and family who have gathered to spend this day with you. This group of loved ones will, likely, never be together in the same place again. Through quiet reflection and nostalgia, think about how each person has touched your life and why they are here with you today. For now you choose each other before your family and friends, to begin your life together. For all the tomorrows that follow, you will choose each other over and again, in the privacy of your hearts. Let your love and friendship guide you, as you learn and grow together. Experience the wonders of the world, even as patience and wisdom calm the restless nature. Through your partnership, triumph over the challenges in your path. Through the comfort of loving arms, may you always find a safe place to call home."

'_Just hurry up! God this is taking forever!'_ Kate thought. She just wanted to kiss him. Was that too much to ask? She just wanted to kiss him and start the rest of her life. She didn't need all of the formalities or all the guests. In fact, she didn't even put the wedding together, it had been Leo and April. She just voice her opion on minor things like flowers and cake flowers. Everything else was her groom's doing.

"Katherine and Leonardo, seek from within yourselves  
The serenity to accept the things you cannot change  
The courage to change the things that you must  
And the wisdom to know the difference.  
Live each day, one day at a time  
Enjoying your time together, one moment at a time  
Seek the wisdom of experience  
Learning all that you can from each other  
Accept hardships as the building blocks of experience  
Realizing that accepting both the good and bad  
Are simply a part of being alive  
Strive to make as many things right  
As is humanly possible in your life together  
That you may be reasonably happy  
In the life you share from this day forward."

"Do you Hamato Leonardo, take Katherine Gates to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do, I accept you, as my companion and my wife. I promise to care for you, honor you, and cherish you, for as long as we both shall love." He smiled at her causing Kate to blush a bit.

"Do you take her, to be your partner in life and sharing your path; equal in love, a mirror for your true self, promising to honor and cherish, through good times and bad, until death do you part?"

"I take you to be my spouse, in equal love, as a mirror for my true self, as a partner on my path, to honor and to cherish, in sorrow and in joy, till death do us part." He echoed back.

"Do you Leonardo, take Katherine to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I take you as my wedded wife, to share my life with you, and pledge that I will love, honor, and care for you in tenderness and affection in all the varying circumstances of our lives. In our _very _interesting and eventful lives." He continued, his sparkling brown eyes locking with her navy blue ones. She almost missed the chuckle of the audience around them.

"Do you Leonardo choose Katherine to be your partner in life, to support and respect her in her successes and as well her failures, to care for her in sickness and in health, to nurture her, and to grow with her throughout the seasons of your life together?"

"I acknowledge my love and respect for you and invite you to share my life as I hope to share yours. I promise always to recognize you as an equal individual and always to be conscious of your development as well as my own. I shall seek through kindness and understanding to achieve with you the life we have envisioned." Tears began to sting Kate's eyes

"Do you Hamato Leonardo, accept Katherine Gates as your lifemate and one true love, promising to share in all that life offers and suffers, to be there for her in times of need, to soothe her in times of pain, and to support her in all endeavors, big and small.

"I promise to always be there for you, to shelter and hold your love as the most precious gift in my life. I will be truthful and honor you. I will care for you always and stand by you in times of sorrow and joy." He spoke lastly and Kate couldn't take it anymore.

"And do you-"

"Yes, yes and yes." Kate spoke quickly making everyone look at her in surprise. Even the groom. "I-I'm sorry. I just…I just can't wait any longer." Kate was choking up, more tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"I love you Hamato Leonardo. More than I loved anyone or anything else. But I don't have to patience to say all those flowery things. I love you too much to wait and say it. Because I want you to be mine, right here, right now." There was a group 'aww' from the crowd and Leonardo smiled taking a hand from a grip with hers to cradle her face.

"Well, in that case." The Ancient One spoke before turning to Casey and August, "The rings if please."

Casey then stepped up with little August and unhooked the chain his son wore and pulled out

"I Leonardo give you Kate." She smiled at this. He remembered she preferred Kate to Katherine anyday, "this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you."

"I, Kate give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness. As I place it on your finger, I commit my heart and soul to you. I ask you to wear this ring as a reminder of the vows we have spoken today, our wedding day."

"Wedding rings are made precious by our wearing them. Your rings say that even in your uniqueness you have chosen to be bound together. Let these rings also be a sign that love has substance as well as soul, a present as well as a past, and that, despite its occasional sorrows, love is a circle of happiness, wonder, and delight. May these rings remind you always of the vows you have taken here today. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife you may now-"

But Kate didn't need any further instruction. She practically pounced in her Leonardo, her husband. Leo, not expecting the sudden 'attack' fell to the floor, with Kate attached to his lips. He smiled in the kiss before returning the favor, pulling her close by the waist as the people in the audience laughed and clapped for the happy couple.

Kate grinned in the kiss, not even pulling away for air Leonardo had to do that. This was the start of her new life. Her life with _her_ Leonardo. She would love him and be with him the rest of her life. She didn't need the wedding, even though he wanted. To Kate, it was nothing more than a party and a piece of paper. But it didn't matter, she had him. Kate legitimately had Leo, now and forever.

**A.N: Mind freaked with you all didn't I? Bet you all thought this was going to be Raph and Sarah's wedding but nu-uh I had different plans. Hope you all loved this and all my dear readers please check out my fic other TMNT: A Thin Line. I hope you loved this little oneshot and I'll see you guys next time! Bye!**


End file.
